Let’s face it, believing in God isn’t always easy. Especially when you or those you love are in pain, and there are a mounting pile of unanswered prayers. It doesn’t help that we can’t see, hear, or hold onto God either.
It’s unique really, in our age, to be in a position to doubt the divine like we do. In the 7,000+ years of recorded history, humanity has been deeply religious, our lives oriented around the will and whims of the heavenly beings. Only in the past few hundred years have we been able to construct a reality where it’s plausible to doubt the existence or the effect of gods/God. It’s harder to believe in God then it used to be.
When my brother Matt was killed in by a drunk driver, you can probably imagine how angry at God I became for letting this happen. This was back in 2001, right after Christmas, in my late 20’s. I’d been a pastor for a few years, grown up in the church my dad pastored, and had gone to Christian school’s most of my life. For all my knowledge and love of God, I was decimated by this death. What kind of God lets this stuff happen? It’s hard to believe in God when life takes excruciating turns.
Looking back fifteen years later, I can see that at times it was my friends faith in God that carried me through those dark days, weeks, months, years. Sometimes you need your family and friends to believe for you. Sometimes the only way towards healing and hope is for your friends to hold on to faith on your behalf for awhile.
We see this in a New Testament story, retold by Mark in his gospel about Jesus Christ. 
In this story a paralyzed man is lowered into Jesus’ presence through a hole cut in the roof; it is the attempt of friends to get their friend healed amidst the crowds amassed around the house where Christ is preaching. An astonished Jesus, wiping dust off his face and standing up as the paralyzed man comes down, looks up at the friends and sees their faith. He remarks, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” And then, to make a short story shorter, Jesus heals him.
Isn’t that fascinating? It’s the faith of the friends who carried the paralyzed man that made this moment possible. Maybe the paralyzed man protested the whole way there, pointing out the futility of their efforts, doubting God and depressed about his situation. But his friends didn’t give up on him. Or Jesus.
Are you feeling paralyzed? Are you doubting God’s existence, his goodness, his relevance? Are you wondering if your sins are forgivable? Are you wounded from the sins done to you? It may be that you need to let loving friends come around and carry you for awhile to get to a place of forgiveness and healing.
Maybe you’re in a dark place, kind of like where I was after my brother was killed, and you’re not sure what to do next, not sure what to believe anymore. If you have any strength left to pray, pray for God to send you a friend who can believe for you, and help you find healing and hope again. And if you don’t know if you can pray that prayer, let me know if it’s okay if I pray it for you.
I don’t know what’s next for you, but following the forgiveness and healing of the paralyzed man, the people were amazed and praised God, saying “We have never seen anything like this!” It reminds me of the old hymn Amazing Grace –“Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me; I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see.” May amazing grace find you and the faith of your friends carry you – not because you believe in it or deserve it, but because you are loved.
And if you’re the friend with faith, stay faithful.
